Hey Lore! Can you give tips on how to stay focused while writing and not get distracted? (Esp for long periods of time)

I think successful focus methods will vary because everyone's attention span and personality are different... But here's some tips from a perfectionist with a short attention span (but who also can't rest until a task is done).- Set up rituals. Caffeine does nothing for me, but sometimes if I'm restless, I go downstairs and brew myself a cup of coffee. The act of grinding the beans, boiling the water, etc relaxes me and helps me "reset" so I can focus. Making coffee is a ritual. People do this with songs, too. If you get used to listening to one song before you get down to business, hearing the song will put you in a more serious mindset. Routine is a powerful thing.- Speaking of music, I either have to listen to music with no lyrics or I loop one song for hours. Eventually, once I get focused, I tune the music out, so it's really more about putting myself in the right mood and atmosphere to work.- Disable social media, turn off your internet, maybe go out and work in a library... Do things to remove distractions from around you. In general, those things can wait. I set my phone to this Do Not Disturb mode, but my family can still reach me in the case of an emergency because their numbers are added to a whitelist. Stuff like that helps. Sometimes if I'm extremely distracted, I get someone to lock me out of accounts by changing the passwords. A lot of times when I try to access social media, it's just reflexive habit, not because I actively want to look at Tumblr or whatever, so being locked out helps a lot.- Have and work on outlines. Outlines are very important. If I'm blocked, sometimes I just flesh out the outline as a step before actual writing, like go from the barebones "Viola and Christian get into an argument" to "Viola and Christian are enjoying a cup of tea when Christian says something rude about her piercings and she goes off on him." It's easier to write when you know what you're going to write. Even if things end up changing between the outline and the final product that's fine—the point is to go over these ideas and have some sort of plan.- Break down tasks. For me, the hardest part is just getting started. Once I start, I will finish. So I coax myself into work. "Just write one sentence. Just finish this one scene. Just finish this block of scenes." Once I find myself writing and satisfied with my work, it's easier to will myself to keep writing—to "just do a little bit more"—in order to keep the momentum going.- Depending on which works better for you, set up rewards and punishments for productivity. "If I finish writing this scene, I can play Granblue Fantasy for 20 minutes. If I don't finish this, I can't eat that piece of cake."- Finally, sort out your problems/stress. Sleep/eat properly or else you might be unhealthy or in a poor mood. Most times if you're blocked or distracted, there is a personal reason for it, often unrelated to the work itself. Figure out what it is, deal with it, and then get back to work